


A Matter Of Science

by dasakuryo



Series: Between Our Mights And Maybes [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Pre-Canon, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-12 07:43:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4471025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dasakuryo/pseuds/dasakuryo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris decides to drop by the lab to pay Barry an unexpected visit. Barry is pleasantly surprised. Little does he know that a misunderstanding is around the corner, or that someone is about to realize his feelings for her.  [Pre-Canon]</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Matter Of Science

"I knew you were _still_ here, cute nerd."

Barry jolted so abruptly that he ended drawing a line on his notebook, right across the detailed description he'd spent writing for the last half an hour. He looked up and saw Iris at the lab door, wearing that trademark bright smile of hers, carrying a box folder in one hand and a plastic bag on the other.

"Iris—" he squinted a bit, his eyes trying to get accustomed to the dimmer light of the room, "what—" he stumbled upon the words as he welcomed her and tried to tidy up his work desk at the same time.

Iris' smile only widened as she approached. Barry squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get the phantom from that insanely bright light from the microscope away from his retina. The dark spots kept dancing before his eyes with every flicker. He kept blinking as Iris left everything atop the nearest clear lab bench and rolled two of the stools nearby.

"So, how is all this recognition thing going?" Iris asked, taking the hamburgers and fries out of the bag.

"Smoothly," Barry answered nonchalantly, pinching the bridge of his nose after sitting down beside her. He took a long sip of his coke before locking eyes with her again. Iris was frowning and pointing a sole and accusatory fry in his direction, "what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Iris frown deepened, before she hastily got hold of her purse and started rifling through it. Before Barry could protest, though, she handed him a blister pack. Barry's confused expression soon turned into an awkward but still grateful, shy smile.

"How did you know?" he asked, before breaking the aluminum foil to take one ibuprofen pill out.

Iris took one of Barry's fries before answering. In the rush to bawl her out, he choked with the sip of coke he'd taken to swallow the pill. Iris patted him on the back as he coughed.

"You mentioned that the bright light of the microscope was giving you headaches," she prompted softly, pushing the plastic glass towards Barry with the back of her hand, "once or twice— in every conversation we've had for the past week," she added afterwards with a ringing amused voice that bordered on a giggle.

It was Barry's turn to frown and took one of Iris fries. But the girl patted him softly on the back of his very hand, making him toss the fry back into the little cardboard box. Barry grunted.

"I've paid them, I am entitled to every one of these fries, Barry," she said with a shrug.

"I thought you've invited me to dinner."

"Yep, I have. Which entitles me to the inherent right over it," she teased, taking a bite of the hamburger to top her statement.

Barry tossed a napkin at her, brushing the left side of his own chin with the back of his fingers. Iris laughed before wiping off the remains of ketchup from her face. Barry would end up leaving half his fries untouched, and Iris would eat them throughout the evening as they chatted and caught up.

When Barry went to get some coffee from the vending machine down the hall, Iris must have found it. She had a mischievous smile curling her lips when Barry walked back inside the lab. At first he didn't realized, since he was too busy biting his tongue so as not to blurt out a curse, the liquid was scolding hot and the thermal conduction on the slim plastic was starting to burn his skin. Iris was holding the photograph and shooting him a clever look.

"So— when were you planning on telling me you've landed yourself a girlfriend, Barry?"

"Never, because I don't have one?" He prompted, matter-of-factly, rising both his voice and eyebrows in confusion. Then he realized that Iris must have found _that_ photo, which was definitely not compromising, or telling, at all —quite the opposite.

 Kayle had caught him off guard and decided to snap a photo at him, back when he was busy preparing some samples to look under the microscope —and hence, his hands had been occupied and unable to push away the camera. Although he doubted Iris would believe the story behind the picture, she'd been insisting on how a cute pair they would made for the past month, back when she met the girl in question.

"Come on, Barry. Are you telling me you still haven't asked her out?" she asked, disbelievingly, sticking the photograph back to the panel. "You'll be so cute together, like you're already the cutest nerds I know—"

"That line of yours is getting old, _fast_." Barry chuckled, while he set the reagent bottles back on their cupboard under lock and key.

"Plus you'll get to do stuff together, and also there's the nerd stuff." She kept going, as if Barry hadn't spoken a word. She smiled brightly at him afterwards, knowingly, as if she was trying to get him to confess something he was hiding from her.

Barry shrugged again.

"I don't know how that would be an upgrade," he quipped, "we already do _that_."

Iris snorted and her eyes grew wide, as she covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

Barry's cheeks went to bright shade of red in a millisecond. His eyes grew wide too, although because of different reasons entirely, his hands moved frantically to ruffle his hair before he blurted an embarrassed and awkward _"I meant the science stuff!"_.

Barry's face was still bright red when they made their way out of the building, and Iris was still laughing at both Barry's face and reaction. She kept teasing him until they took the bus, bumping into his side every now and then, at which Barry bit the inside of his cheek and tried to shoot her an annoyed glare —which in the end turned into embarrassed smiles at her joy, particularly upon listening to her giggle.

 

 Of course that he'd to relieve the embarrassment when they got dinner with Joe a few days later. Both father and daughter laughed at the situation, while Barry looked mortified at the meatballs on his plate of pasta.

* * *

 

 

"So, what's the deal with her?" Kayle mumbled while looking through the microscope and drawing the sight on her notebook.

Barry's fingers stopped typing the report. Great. Again.

"I am just saying—" Kayle swiveled on her stool and turned to face him, "she has been bringing you both lunch _and_ dinner for the past week so— is there anything between you two or—"

"Nothing like that, we're just friends." He answered coolly, resuming the writing of the report.

 Iris chose that precise moment to appear by the door, wave both of them from the distance and inform them she was bringing Chinese takeout for lunch. Barry waved in turn and gave her a thumbs up, smiling.

"Yeah, tell that to your autonomic nervous system," the girl snorted, "you're _blushing_ , Barry Allen."


End file.
